Observations:Rob Gronkowski remained on the same plan as yesterday. He participated in individual and positional drills but sat out when the offense lined up against the defense in 7-on-7s and 11-on-11s. Gronk admitted after the practice he’s obviously still not 100 percent, but he looked pretty decent while running routes.

Dobson, Dennard, Slater, Kelly, Gallon and Easley worked out on the lower field out of sight from reporters, and they watched the remaining half of the practice. Not all that different from yesterday.

Thomas was the only new absentee.

Wide receiver Greg Orton, who re-signed two days ago, was carted off later in the workout due to a leg injury.

Right guard Dan Connolly has been universally pegged as a veteran who could be released due to his $3 million price tag, but he worked extensively at center today. He’s played plenty of center in his career, and this is the latest example of the open competition in the middle of the line.

Logan Mankins had to run a rare penalty lap early in practice. It’s possible he had a false start or something procedural.

Jimmy Garoppolo and Brandon Bolden also ran a lap after fumbling an exchange. Bolden has two fumbles in two practices and also had a bad drop today. Fumbles were a major issue during his rookie training camp, too.

Garoppolo had a poor day with two interceptions and a number of incompletions. Linebacker Chris White stood still in the zone to intercept the first pass, and cornerback Daxton Swanson made a nice play to pluck a throw that was a shade behind his intended receiver in the end zone.

Overall, the offense wasn’t nearly as crisp as yesterday, but Tom Brady and the first team finished the final 7-on-7 drill and 11-on-11 work on a high note to salvage part of the practice.

Kenbrell Thompkins was the star of the day. The highlight of practice came late when he beat Darrelle Revis on a crossing pattern along the baseline of the end zone and made a diving touchdown catch. Revis even tugged at Thompkins’ jersey a moment before the catch.

Shane Vereen was very active catching the ball and made a terrific leaping catch over linebacker James Anderson on a Ryan Mallett pass in the end zone.

James White drew the ire of his quarterback when he ran the wrong route in the red zone. Rookie mistake.

Brady, Gronkowski, Julian Edelman and Thompkins had a couple side sessions during special teams drills. Interestingly, it happened as the Pats practiced punts, and Amendola worked as the returner. This isn’t to say it’s Amendola’s new job, but it’s noteworthy neither Edelman nor Thompkins caught any punts.

Roy Finch fielded punts, too, so he has worked at both punt returner and kick returner in the past two days.

Stephen Houston and Jonas Gray are getting some rotational work at running back. The three youngsters will all be charging for Bolden’s roster spot.

On a lighter note, Brady caught a touchdown pass from Gronkowski during those side sessions, and he also lined up at defensive tackle during one (obvious non-contact) drill. Mallett ran a random route yesterday. Every now and then, a QB will help out during a walkthrough-type of drill like that, including kick coverage.

Kyle Arrington made a leaping play to break up a fade route to Danny Amendola at the front corner of the end zone.

Tight end Justin Jones, all 6-foot-8 of him, hasn’t done much to distinguish himself, but he showed off some really nice hands on a TD catch, getting past Tavon Wilson in the process. Jones later received attention from the trainers to get his legs stretched out.

Bill Belichick and Tedy Bruschi, who was on the ESPN set, spent a couple minutes hanging out on the sideline while they watched red-zone drills.

Next: The Patriots practice tomorrow at 9:15 a.m., and it’s open to the public. It will be their first practice in full pads.